


People Like Us

by Charlie9646



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Author remembers what the world use to be like (and still is), Drinking, F/M, Gay Bar, Homophobia, LGBT, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape Friendship, M/M, Standing up for what you believe in, cursing, hinted past Lucius/Severus, homophobic parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:15:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21940297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie9646/pseuds/Charlie9646
Summary: No one one should live in a closet, not anyone.Sirius and Severus just to men and their lives together. In world not unlike our own.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Regulus Black/Remus Lupin, Sirius Black/Severus Snape
Comments: 5
Kudos: 49





	People Like Us

  
The day Severus Snape reunited with Sirius Black was a day like any other. He went to his mundane at best and hellish at worst job. Mistress Kelly or Sarah Jane Kelly was an Irish witch, who to be brutally honest could not dare fire her best potioneer but did not like having a gay man on her staff.

It was not like gay men and lesbian women we're forced to wear a pink triangle on their chest in the wizarding world. Even for the conservative downright Victorian world that was a little too Nazi Germany for their taste. Severus was up until his boss found out in the closet to all but Lily Evans soon to be Potter. To be truthful he would prefer it to be that way.

She found out when she insisted he should find a pretty girl to date. The first time he said, ”no I do not”.

She said, ”yes you do.”

He hissed, ”Really, I do not.”

Sarah said, ”What about that Lily girl? The muggleborn, is she the problem?”

Severus snarled, ”No! Lily is not the problem. Because I am gay and don't want to find the right girl.” From the moment he became friends with Lily, everyone insisted he must be in love with her. He must want to date her. Later he must want to sleep with her. No, Lily was his friend, like a sister. The only one who accepted and understood him.

The one who stopped him from becoming some sort of monster, he couldn't believe he was going to become when he looked back.

Sarah never saw him the same again, she hissed at him, not unlike a Snake, ”your one of those?”

Severus was not the courageous type, never had been never would be, but he had already hung himself with this job. In for a penny in for a pound. He snarled at her, ”yes I am.”

She said, ”as soon as I can find someone to replace you, your fired!”

Mistress Kelly seemed unable to find someone good enough to replace him, but she had also made where no one else would hire him. So, with the choice of being out of the closet taken from him at once, Severus decided he was going to put himself out there. Go to a bar that catered to his type of people. Maybe he might be able to find someone to go home with. He could only wish, right?

When the workday was over Severus, was only twenty-two, decided for once in his life he was going to try to do what Lily had been pushing him to do for years, let someone else in. That was how he ended up at the old pinewood door of Helen’s the only gay bar in the English wizarding world.

The floors were stained and scuffed. The room smelled of stale cigarettes, the dance floor was small. Bodies of men pressed against each other. Severus, couldn't help but openly stare taking the sight in. He didn't even believe people would be open like this about their desires. Maybe there wasn't anything wrong with him.

He made his way to the bar itself and took a seat on a stool. 

The bartender was a blonde man not much older than Severus himself, he could have sworn the man winked at him, in a clearly fake accent the man drawled something that vaguely reminded of honey dripping, ”what are ya having, sugar?”

Severus coughed into his hand, to hide his embarrassment, and said, ”fire whiskey.”

The bartender said, ”Sure you don't want to have something sweeter, doll?”

The man was clearly flirting with him now. However, Severus was put off by the man’s forwardness. It made him uncomfortable by being seen as a piece of meat of sorts. This is what Lily had always talked about, wasn't it? Why sometimes when she wanted to go out drinking just the two of them she would tell strange men Severus was her boyfriend. Because sometimes men just couldn't take a hint.

Long ago he had been one of those, back when his father's Christan faith had made him believe the only thing he could be was straight, which led him to believe he was in love with Lily. Though he hated to admit throughout his teen years, he followed her around somewhat like some sort of lost puppy, lapping at Lily’s heels willing to take any scrap of affection from her.

When Severus realized while did love her, he could never love her that way, it was somewhat heartbreaking, but also comforting. Because the fact is if he insisted on his feelings for her and was actually straight? He would have lost her to Potter. No matter that for years she tried to deny it, even to herself. When he stood back and took the situation in, it was clear as day, Lily was in love with James Potter. Even if he could sometimes be a toerag.

The blonde sat his drink in front of him and said nothing, though his steely blue-grey eyes seemed far harsher now. Whatever, Severus wasn't that desperate, he wasn't willing to go home with just anyone. After Lucius Malfoy, he had zero interest in men like that man. And the frustration that the situation had caused him.

The blonde didn't likely know the difference between asphodel and aconite. The type of person who would bore Severus to tears. The type that made even Potter or Black look smart. The type who cared more about his...

Severus was snapped out of his thoughts by a tap on his shoulder, he turned to face who had done so. An Auror, Merlin fuck it all to hell he thought. The man with the short-cropped black hair and dark skin said, ”come on you know the routine, a night in jail to remind you not to be at places like this. Not that your kind will ever take the reminder, that is.”

Severus didn't know why he did it, maybe it was everything coming together all at once, but he picked up his shot glass and said, ”let me finish my fucking drink first, and then maybe.”

The guy yanked him hard off the barstool before he could bring his drink to his lips. The Auror hissed, ”bloody, stupid queer.”

Severus in an angry mocking tone, ”I may be a lot of things sweetheart, but stupid isn't one of them.”

******************

Severus laid on the bunk in the cell at the ministry. His boots sat on the floor under the bed, his knees were bent and his head rested on his arms, the pillow was nearly as thin as parchment. All he wanted was a stupid drink he thought to himself, just a stupid drink, and maybe just someone who didn't look like Lucius Malfoy to go home with. Was that too much to ask?

Was that too much to want?For others maybe not, but for him surely it was.

Severus shut his eyes and groaned. He was not going to get any sleep tonight if the person in the next cell over did not quit making the racket that they were.

He heard the bars of his cell start to rattle, he thought for a second about sitting up, but did not bother to. They had promised him at least a night in this wretched cell, undoubtedly they were not going to change their mind simply because they felt like it.

Someone said, ”toss the bastard in there, maybe the two of them will do something to each other. Snape and Black hated each other in school.”

Severus opened his eyes and snarled, and here he thought the night couldn't get any worse. For a half of a second, he hoped that dumb and dumber were wrong and it was actually Regulus who they were tossing in the cell with him. What a foolish thought that was though.

Sirius moaned, ”you're putting me in a cell with Snape! Surely there has to be somewhere else.”

The guard said, ”Black do the crime you gotta do the time.”

Black said, ”there is nothing wrong with being at a bar. It's a legal business, and it's got rather good beer on tap.”

The man with the strawberry blonde hair said, ”it's not a crime to be a faggot, but acting on those urges of yours in public is. And anyway you two freaks should have a lot in common, Snape was at the same bar as you.”

Sirius pulled away from the man had seemed to accept his fate. He sat on the stone floor and looked at Severus and said with his blue eyes shining, ”I didn't know you were queer.”

Severussaid harshly, ”I prefer the term gay.”

Sirius said, ”Queer, Gay, Faggot, hell even Sissy are all just words you know, words they use to hate us, but have every right to reclaim and want to take back. There was a time they use to call us bent. As in...”

Severus said, ”I know what it means Black, it refers to the man whose bottoming.”

Sirius said, ”you know the world is never going to change unless people like us stand up to people like them, right?”

Severus said, ”you repeated people like twice you know that right? You sound like some sort of teenage girl complaining about the in-crowd when your just some sort weirdo.”

Sirius said, ”that’s not what I meant Snape. Not like teenagers disliking other people, though your one to talk about that. You were an outsider.”

Severus said, ”and you are someone who regularly made me feel like a freak.”

Sirius said, ”you have a point there, and I am sorry about that. What I meant was don't you want to not end up in jail simply because you were at a bar doing Merlin knows what, which doesn't actually even matter. Being that they wouldn't give a bloody care about it if it was a straight person?”

Severus said, ”you're talking about it like we can actually do anything about. Like I am not living with the fact every single day that as soon as my boss can find someone halfway decent in potions? I am going to get the ax unable to find another job.”

Sirius said, ”and that's exactly why we need to stand up to them.So stuff like that doesn't continue to happen.”

Severus could not help but laugh, ”surely no one has ever told you this and it may have escaped your notice, but life isn't fair. We don't get what we want just because we want it.”

Sirius said, ”life isn't fair Snape, but the only way to make it fairer is to do something about it.”

Severus said, ”you know all I wanted to do this evening was have a drink, and maybe find someone to go home with. My only requirement was that he not look like bloody Lucius Malfoy. Or that he did not act like he was going to spike my drink with Merlin knows what. Instead, I am stuck in a jail cell with my former Hogwarts bully who did everything within his power to make my life growing up bloody miserable. Rambling on about making the world fucking better for ”people like us”.

You know what Sirius Orion Black? I have exactly nothing fucking in common with you besides the fact we are both gay. Not our childhoods. Not our experiences. Not likely even why type of men we like to sleep with. Go find someone else help you with your cause of fixing the bloody wizarding world! I have bigger things to worry about, like keeping a roof over my head.”

Sirius said, ”I deserve every bloody bit of that Severus, every single bit. But, you know what? I think you and might have more in common than you actually think, but that's just from where I stand.”

Severus said, ”from where you stand the pureblood, the son of the great and noble house of Black. The guy whose gotten everything he's ever freaking wanted. I would bet we have nothing in common, utterly nothing.”

Sirius said, ”well Lily who knows us both quite well and disagreed with that. Last time I spoke to her.”

Severus said, ”what do you even mean?”

Sirius said, “my parents were bluntly, pieces of shit. That’s why I left when I turned sixteen. They believed because I didn’t want to marry some stupid pureblood bint I was broken. That they needed to fix me. And when I didn't want to be fixed, they decided they were going to break me. James and Remus are likely the only reason I am still alive at this point. Lily thought we could understand each other. I am the friend she kept trying to set you up with.”

Severus sat up on the cot, and said, ”why did you even agree to such an idea?” His long black hair hung in his face. He knew it was still greasy from work. Not that he cared, much. He stared down at his pale long fingers waiting for the answer from the other man. Part of him hoped it was sincere, but he long ago accepted that it was unlikely something as this would be the case.

Sirius Black stood up and walked over to where Severus sat. For once the potion’s master truly took the details of Sirius in. His heavy motorcycle leather boots, tobacco smoke smelling leather jacket, his bright blue eyes and his loose wavy black hair. The man sat down next to him.

The man said to Severus, “I agreed to such an idea because I was a stupid boy as a teenager. No different than James was when it came to Lily. Doing things that I knew would get your attention. Even though it was not the right type of attention. I wanted you to notice me. But, you Severus was the only person, who did not seem to notice me in the way I hoped you would.”

Severus snarled, ”well maybe if you treated me with half an ounce of respect it may have been different.” His tone then softened, ”but the truth is we are both guilty of being assholes when we were young. Taking out the pain of our upbringing's on each other. I am just as guilty as you.”

Sirius leaned his head on Severus’s shoulder, the other man did not know why he allowed it. Maybe it was out of silliness, but it felt nice, it felt wonderful to have someone close to him. Someone who was just like him. The same type of messed up way he always wished he was not. 

Sirius said softly, ”I use to wonder if you smelled good, stupid thing to wonder about, I know, but I did. Now at least I do know you do.”

Severus said, ”you know I do shower right? As much as you and your friends insisted I did not, I did and I do.”

Sirius took off his boots and stuck them next to Severus’s.

Sirius muttered, ”We should try and get some sleep. They are going to wake us up early just to make us feel lesser than them.”

Severus said, ”I don't think there is any way I am going to get to sleep tonight. For one it's too bloody cold.”

Sirius said, ”it would be warmer if we share a bed. That way we can strip the covers off the top bunk and be under both sets. And being close would also help us stay warm.”

Severus asked, ”Are you sure you're not drunk?”

Sirius laughed, ”sober as the day I was born. Only had a butterbeer. I don't like how booze makes me feel, tipsy and out of sorts. Out of control.”

Severus said, ”so what you said earlier isn't some drunken confession that you're going to forget tomorrow morning and lose it on me for touching you?”

Sirius laughed, ”even if it was I would wonder admire my drunken self’s ability to be less stupid than I was for all of those years and get you in bed with me.”

Severus said, ”even if we do what you are suggesting, we aren't fucking. I have zero interest in prison sex. I have zero interesting in being another fuck and leave. I will not be another notch in your headboard.”

Sirius said, ”just sleeping. And those freaks would likely get off on it anyway. I have zero interest in being material for them to jerk off to. You would never be another notch in my headboard. Beyond the fact I don't even know people did that, let alone I haven't done it enough to have too many of those.”

Severus stood up to strip off the strip the blankets off the top bunk and grab the other pillow. Knowing full well Sirius could easily stare at his ass as he did so. As he did so he said, ”neither have I, done it much, that is. Now up, I want to make this piece of crap they call a bed.”

Once the bed was made Sirius asked Severus something that he should have expected, but was still shocked by, ”can I kiss you? I have wanted to do that for a long time and it seems neither of us is going to get what we went to that bar for.”

Severus arranged the pillows just right and turned down the sorry excuse for blankets. Then he said, ”tomorrow, tomorrow you can if you don't try to hex me or punch me. Because you said stupid shit while you were drunk.”

Sirius said, ”I am not drunk.”

Severus said, ”if you can spend a night sharing a bed with me, and not be pissed the hell off about doing so, tomorrow, I may truly believe what you have said tonight. If it turns out to just be a lie then I have lost nothing, beyond learning what I already knew and giving you one more chance to hurt me.

If that's what happens Sirius I never want to see you again unless I have to, and I will never believe another word you say. This is your one chance. I am giving you just enough bloody rope to hang yourself. Don't prove me wrong on my ridiculous notion of trusting you.I may be a lot of things, Sirius, but a fool is not one of them. I am not some lovestruck school girl, who wants to kiss your ass. If this is going to go anywhere you will treat me with the respect I deserve.”

Sirius said, ”I understand fully, and nothing will please me more than waking up in bed with you tomorrow.”

They climbed on the small cot together and covered up. Severus had to admit he was attracted to Sirius, the feelings in school we're mutual if the other man actually was telling the truth. For all that time Severus assumed the man was straight, and therefore unattainable. Beyond that surely the man even if he was gay would not want to be with someone like himself. Maybe that was false, as he curled into Sirius arm around the other man and his head on his chest he dared to hope that was true.

***********************

Severus moaned at the feeling of something brushing against his cock, fuck that felt good. He woke up abruptly when the cell door clanged open, startling him fully awake.

The guard snarled, “fucking queers”.

Sirius smiled at him and said with a smirk, “no fucking here, unfortunately.”

The guard rolled his pale fish blue eyes, and his freckled skin tightened with anger. He said, ”someone is here for each of you, get up and get out before we changed our minds.”

They both sat up to get their shoes on, once done they both pulled on their coats, Severus pulled the hair tie off his wrist and tied back his long limp hair.

Sirius smiled at him and tucked a piece of his bangs behind his ear, he said to Severus, ”I love the way you look with your hair tied back.”

Severus rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

Sirius said, ”I am serious”.

Severus said, ” you're always Sirius.”

Sirius laughed, ”true”, his eyes bright and happy.

The other guard said to the one that stood in the doorway of the cell, ” Pewitt, get the freaking princesses moving. The one of men waiting on them is an Auror, and he's getting pissy.”

Severus grabbed Sirius’s hand, and the other man did not pull away. Instead, he ran his thumb against the back of Severus’s hand he held. They walked hand in hand and Sev thought to himself he was going straight into the lion’s den, surely it was James who was waiting on them.

They stepped into the waiting area, waiting was Remus, James and Lily. Remus said nothing, Lily just smiled and James looked a little green.

Severus just shrugged at them. He didn't know what to say he was still in shock himself. But then Sirius pulled him close and said, ”you said if I didn't regret it in the morning I could kiss you.”

Severus said nothing unable for once in his life to think of words to say, instead, he nodded. He expected Sirius to laugh at him and say it was all a joke. Instead, the man pulled him close and said, ”so, can I kiss you?”

Severus whispered, ”yes”.

And then he felt lips pressed against his own and his eyes closed with thought. They were about the same height roughly, so neither had to bend or reach up for the other. Sirius’s fingers we're on the back of his neck, without thought he gripped Sirius’s coat between his fingers. Sirius’s tongue asked for entrance to his mouth and he gave in easily.

When they pulled away Sirius whispered, ”you're amazing, and I was a stupid fool growing up.”

Severus said, ”your pretty amazing yourself, I was just too stupid to see it.”

James said, ”what in Merlin’s name is going on? And are you both asking to be thrown back in a cell?”

Lily said and shoved her fiance, ”leave them be. And Remus you owe me money on that bet.”

Remus laughed, ”that I do, but who would blame me last time they saw each other they were at each other’s throats.”

James said, ” let's just get out of here before our boss sees you two, Sirius.”

They walked out into the light of day, Sirius pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

Severus said, ”I normally don't smoke, but I need one, hand them over.”

Lily said, ”Severus that's such a bad habit, what the hell pass them here.”

Remus nodded and lit his own cigarette from his pack he had pulled out.

James laughed, ”if everyone else is I don't want to be the odd man out.”

The cigarettes were passed around. Severus thought to himself who would have thought something like this could start from a night spent in a jail cell. Maybe being outed wasn't such a bad thing if it led to this.

*************************

Severus stood next to Sirius, in front of the ministry of magic. Men and women like them stood around them. Lily and James stood a few feet away in support. Remus clung to Regulus they had recently gotten together. Which caused the two brothers to start speaking again. Though it meant that their parents would likely never speak to Sirius again.

Not he seemed to care much about that. The bigots could even never speak to their children again, for all either brother cared. Disowning them meant the name would die with their father and uncle.

They were protesting the statutes that said for people of the same sex to have any public displays of affection was criminal. As was it to crossdress. These laws we're archaic in nature. That fact made Severus’s blood boil, that someone would assume without knowing him that what he was born as was dangerous, gross and evil.

Unlike most of the men and women surrounding them the few Slytherins, we're used to such treatment. It didn't matter that Tom Riddle Jr was rotting in the ground, he was a Slytherin, he was from the Slytherin family, therefore all Slytherins were evil.

For every Tom Riddle, there was himself, for every Bellatrix Lestrange, there was an Andromeda Tonks, for every Lucius Malfoy there was a Regulus Black.

But, on the same token for every good Gryffindor, there was someone like Peter Pettigrew. The man who nearly destroyed the wizarding world, thankfully Arthur Weasley of all people realized the rat at there meeting was an actual rat.

The freaking traitor was rotting in Azkaban with most other death eaters. Lucius Malfoy however escaped by using his money, his influence, and outright lying. The same man who nearly led Severus down that path walked free. The same man who helped make those wretched laws they were fighting against, and yet years ago before Severus was even of age the man tried to convince him to sleep with him.

That sent him running to Lily, who insisted that they have a meeting with Dumbledore.

For once in all of Severus’s years at Hogwarts, for once a professor decided he was worth protecting, that his path wasn’t laid in stone. That he didn’t have to be a death eater if he did not want to be one.

Severus took a deep breath as Lucius walked down the steps as if he owned the whole wizarding world, maybe he did in his mind. But the truth was he did not. What angered Severus the most was Lucius was not any better than them; if anything he was worse.

Sirius hissed, and then stood in Malfoy’s way. ”Lucius, how does it feel to be known as the man who tells people who they can and cannot not love?”

Lucius looked at Sirius as if he was a bug on the ground in his way and he wanted to just squash him. As if he was the scum of the earth. Severus thought for a second what did he ever see in the bastard.

Lucius drawled at both of them, ”I have no problem with what anyone does behind closed doors, but children and the rest of society doesn't need to see it. It's perverted and a shame on both your families. Actually, no Snape is a dirty son of a blood traitor half-blood and you Black are just a blood traitor. The world would be better without your kind.”

James looked as Sirius sharply, seeming to take every detail of him in, he hissed, ”don't do it, Siri, he's not worth it.”

Sirius said, ”you don't understand James”. He did not allow his friend to hold him back.

“He does not think you're a freak of nature because you exist. He doesn't want to take every single bit of your rights away. He doesn't want to tell you, that you can't marry, have kids or live a normal fucking life. He's not telling you that you can’t love Lily. He's telling me I can't love Severus!”

Lucius snarled, ”Still just like you always were Black. Whining about what the world is doing to you. Do the world a favor and grow up. Find a little pureblood witch like the rest of us. Stop playing house with a man.”

Lily came closer and swung hard with her fist at Lucius’s face. She hit him square in the nose. For a second he didn't realize what had happened, his grey eyes wide, with a touch of fear. His nose started to bleed and he snarled at her, ”you stupid little, mudblood!”

She said to him so softly no one but the people closest to them could hear, “Sirius and Severus are not doing anything wrong. You surely are, it might slip to the wrong person that Lucius Malfoy likes to proposition underage boys to sleep with him. I wonder what the daily prophet would think of such things.

Now go home to wife and play house with her Mr. Malfoy, there is a study though I heard about that some muggles did seems being gay can run in families. With you and then you son being half Black that’s an interesting thing to think about it isn’t?”

Lucius shoved past them, and then turned to James and said, “keep your bitch on a shorter leash, or something unforeseen might happen. Rumor is she birthed the next Dumbledore or even the next dark lord.”

Severus said softly, ”you will leave Lily alone or you might learn curses aren't the only thing that can hurt someone.”

************************

Twenty years thought Sirius, it took twenty bloody years to get the law changed. Harry his godson was a grown man now. But in some ways, it seems like yesterday that they were in their twenties believing they could change the world. In a way they had.

He buttoned the cuffs of his shirt and smiled down at the silver ring on his left hand. Today was the day, today he was marrying the love of his life.

James smiled at him, streaks of grey and silver in his wild black hair. He said to his closest friend, ”today is the day, are you sure you want to do this?”

Sirius said, ”as sure as I am of my own magic.” Long gone was the angry man who used to pick fights with Aurors just to watch them squirm, he was now a professor of all things. He was sure many of his former students would be in the crowd. So many who had been just like him as teenagers. Men and women who learned as children there was nothing wrong with them because they had someone just like them to look up to.

Sirius put on his suit jacket, straightened his wavy hair in the mirror.

He checked his shoelaces, the last thing he needed to do was trip down the aisle.

Remus and James stood in the open doorway with him. He sighed softly, today was the day. He walked down the aisle with his friends at his side. Lily stood next to Severus, her red hair curled out of her face. Her green eyes filled with tears.

Severus stood there in robes of black linen, with silver buttons, hair tied back out of his face just the way Sirius liked it. When he reached the man of his dreams Sirius was once again the young foolish man of his youth, he couldn't help himself as he kissed the love of his life.

He heard the crowd in the church laugh. Sirius was just being Sirius.He barely heard their vows to enchanted by the man in front of him. Then they said, ”I do”, then they grabbed their wands out of their pockets and whispered more to each other than the crowd around them, ”expecto patronum”.

Two fairly large dogs leaped from their wands their bodies made of up blue mist, and the room was speechless.

Severus whispered, ”now Mr. Black something else is supposed to happen, you know that right though you already skipped that step though.”

Sirius laughed, ”even to you it's professor Mr. Black, but yes I did forget something”.And then they kissed. They had a lifetime left together, anyway didn't wizards live nearly twice as long as muggles anyway? Even so, they going to make every moment count, and teach people just like them there was nothing wrong with them.


End file.
